FBI Wants New Tools In Terror Assessments

Agents Would Be Permitted To Use Tactics Only Allowed In Criminal Cases, Such As Physical Surveillance

(AP)  The Bush administration proposed guidelines Friday that would give the FBI more tools to assess national security and foreign intelligence threats.

Agents would be permitted to use tactics only allowed in criminal cases: physical surveillance, recruitment of sources and "pretext interviews" - where the real purpose would not be revealed.

Justice Department and FBI senior officials briefed reporters on the draft guidelines, but would not be quoted by name because they were discussing proposals that are still likely to be changed.

Some Democratic senators and civil liberties groups have said the proposals would allow Americans to be targeted in part by their race, ethnicity or religion - and be spied on without any other basis for suspicion.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which was briefed by the FBI and Justice Department, quickly criticized the new guidelines. The rewritten rules would "give the FBI the ability to begin surveillance without factual evidence, stating that a generalized 'threat' is enough to use certain techniques," the group said.

"Also under the new guidelines, a person's race or ethnic background could be used as a factor in opening an investigation, a move the ACLU believes will institute racial profiling as a matter of policy."

The administration officials acknowledged those factors could play a role in national security and foreign intelligence cases. But they said they can already be considered under 2003 rules that are not changing.

According to the officials, the surveillance, recruitment and interview rules are too restrictive in allowing the FBI to become a post-Sept. 11 intelligence agency that can stop terrorists before they strike.

FBI Director Robert Mueller will testify about the guidelines in Congress next week.

Commenting on the decision to leave the 2003 guidelines on race, religion and ethnicity unchanged, Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said, apart from the briefing, "It is simply not responsible to say that race may never be taken into account when conducting an investigation. The reality is that a number of criminal and terror groups have very strong ethnic associations."

He said the bureau cannot ignore La Cosa Nostra's Italian membership or that Hezbollah is largely Lebanese, "any more than it could ignore the identification of a bank robber as a short white male."

Existing guidelines do not allow an investigation based on factors like race alone; there must be some other evidence of a threat or crime, the senior officials said at the briefing.

The officials said they want the guidelines to take effect Oct. 1.

They described a threat assessment as an information-gathering tool - usually based on a tip or a news story - to determine whether a problem exists. An example would be learning whether Iranian agents are operating in a U.S. location to obtain technology secrets.

However, the assessment guidelines are important, because the threat assessment could trigger a formal investigation of Americans in foreign intelligence and national security matters.

The guidelines require that FBI agents use the least intrusive methods in their assessment. However, they would be able to work on the assessment - such as conducting Internet searches - without high-level approval from supervisors.

[missingamerica]

Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said, apart from the briefing, "It is simply not responsible to say that race may never be taken into account when conducting an investigation. The reality is that a number of criminal and terror groups have very strong ethnic associations."

He is right, you know.

For instance, it seems to have been mostly white people who transformed the Republican Party into an instrument for the accumulation of wealth and power with no regard - and even a contempt - for morality, ethics, and the law.

Or even the lives of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis...

Just about makes me ashamed to be white.

[kazoodan]

I don''''t have a problem with this at all, although criminals with something to hide might feel differently. And if it protects the citizens of this country, I''''m all for it.

Posted by jgg000 at 12:17 PM : Sep 14, 2008

Until they round you up by mistake, lock you in a hole without representation, nobody knows where you are. You think it can''t happen? How can you be sure it hasn''t happened already?

[barbaram99]

I am for what tha contution saids not the word of persons that lie. Frankly WHEN I was small, I was not allowed to lie and if and when I did I was told and what I must do and give up for a period of time. So YE WANT TO BE SAFE..So do I . I don''t need a nanny state to tell me ye can;t this/can''t that. all I heard from foster parents,teachers,males was Barbara Ye can''t can''t..I got so bloody tired of it. Now It is still can''t. In was in Feb of 05 I was 50. Bill brought down an old Dell pc for Vince to learn. The rule was Barbara can''t use it. Well Vince did not care for it and yes I got my paws into it. Sure Bill was pissed. Then at at 51 got my Dell as the old one died. He was worried a legally blind lady would learn more than him. I want to be safe when I walk on the street. If ye want a police state than move to a nation where that is. I want it harder for non American to come here. If they do then do it properly.

[mydiatribe]

It''s time WE all woke up to who is helping and exactly who is hurting this War on Terror!

The ACLU is BY FAR the MOST subversive organization presently targeting American values within our borders.

[frigginnutz3]

FBI= FAT *** ILLNESS.

[jgg000]

I don''t have a problem with this at all, although criminals with something to hide might feel differently. And if it protects the citizens of this country, I''m all for it.

[donnie8218]

24? Thats just a tv show. Hey don''t sweat it. I thought Lost was real.

[gramto8]

Over the course of American history, we observe power corrupts, especially police and investigative power.

The FBI, Moeller himself, admitted recently the FBI had gone too far in many documented cases of abuse of its powers under the Patriot Act. And for those abuses, the FBI urges Congress to give it more power?

A police state in America is not required to counter terrorism. Nor do we have to become like our adversaries abroad to fight them effectively. The most important guarantee of our freedoms is our refusal to surrender to fear, and create a police state.

Posted by alphaa10 at 10:00 PM : Sep 13, 2008

But...but... if they have these extra powers and they USE them, it isn''t ABUSING them... Can''t you see how GWB and cronies.... (I started to say ''think'' but that doesn''t apply). I guess I should say how they connive to get us to fall for giving up even MORE of our rights.

[blindhowlin]

The White House, FBI, CIA, etc. can not cover up incompetence with the same lame excuse "We don''t have the tools we need blah,blah,blah." If you can''t do the job, get the hell out and let''s get someone in there who can.

[DScott750]

See nothing wrong with the FBI wanting new tools to fight terror. In fact I wish they''d start calling Gangs Terrorists. There''s no real difference between what Bloods, Crypts etc do. They''re holding US citizens hostage in their own neighborhoods.

[raskal_2]

I never looked over my shoulder for any thing I have ever done, Now I check, and I still haven''t done anything

[liberalme]

Nothing less than incompetence.

There are over 800,000 names on the FBI terror watch list-it''s very likely many of them are just plain Americans--to date they have done nothing with them.

They have illegally wiretapped all of us--I haven''t heard a single word on how that''s helped them round up any "cells".

Obviously the "think tanks" have no idea what to do. I''m certain that to date, they have cost us millions for their own failures.

It''s no mistake we haven''t been attacked since 911--actually it''s pretty curious---certainly Bush hasn''t done anything to make us safer---actually as far as safety goes--we are n safer than we were before 911.

[tapsettle]

Maybe they need tools with better handgrips. That waterboarding lark makes everything so *** slippery.

[docpeter1953]

From the above article, "Commenting on the decision to leave the 2003 guidelines on race, religion and ethnicity unchanged, Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said, apart from the briefing, "It is simply not responsible to say that race may never be taken into account when conducting an investigation. The reality is that a number of criminal and terror groups have very strong ethnic associations."

He said the bureau cannot ignore La Cosa Nostra''s Italian membership or that Hezbollah is largely Lebanese, "any more than it could ignore the identification of a bank robber as a short white male."
________________

Oh what the heck, you cannot ignore that Aryan members, KKKers, American Nazi''s are largely, supposedly, "Christian" white men either. Or the members of La Raza tend to be Hispanics. And don''t forget, most incarcerated Muslims in USA prisons tend to be African-Americans.

Also from the above article, "They described a threat assessment as an information-gathering tool - usually based on a tip or a news story - to determine whether a problem exists. An example would be learning whether Iranian agents are operating in a U.S. location to obtain technology secrets."

Well I can see no better reason to NOT allow immagration and or student visas from/into the USA from certain countries. He11 we educated many of these foreigners only to have them turn against us.

[tapsettle]

The FBI need a ham fist or a bacon grinder. Palin is still claiming a link between Iraq and 9-11. That is just pig ignorant ... with or without the lipstick. The FBI need to cure that porker.

[songbookz-2009]

The FBI has already admitted to abusing NSL''s thousands of times - why should they be trusted with even more "tools?"

[songbookz-2009]

The FBI has already admitted to abusing NSL''s thousands of times - why should they be trusted with even more "tools?"

[wardoglrs]

The F.B.I means "For Being Idiots" Now what part of the FBI did I not understand?. You got to think of the government like a condom.
It wants you to think your getting protection but your really going to get screwed.
Now if ever the voter will wake up is the day we can put this all behind us, And get on with Life Liberty and the pursuit of happiness

[notfooled]

''''The Bush administration proposed guidelines Friday that would give the FBI more tools''''.

Forget it. Anything the Bush administration proposes is bad news and comes with an ulterior motive. Have we not learned that lesson yet?

Posted by ontheleft at 06:36 PM : Sep 13, 2008

ontheleft is right on target. Anything that spews forth from the mouth of mister 962 public lies, wmd, wmd, wmd, liar bush, should be scrutinized for a secret agenda and you can bet it won''t be good for "we the people."

We need to stand tall and tell the fear mongering, wacko enslavers enough is enough.

[blindhowlin]

Why let''s just get rid of that pesky little thing called the Constitution, it''s a major obstacle in the war on terror any how. What we need to do is re-activate the House Committee on Un-America Activities, teach our children to report suspicious activities of their parents or other adults to the proper authorities, video monitors in every home and everyone will sleep safer at night. Terroists are trying to steal our Freedom! Don''t you get it???
McBigBrother/McLittleSister ''08 A New Begining!